In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Set in the American South, an isolated and troubled young man embarks, on his eighteenth birthday, on an unexpected adventure never to be forgotten. For Moss, whose mother died while delivering him, the day means freedom, especially from his father, whom Moss believes resents him for his very existence. However, it will take more than this milestone day to set the troubled young man free.